Mushroom Cloud

This translation of Saki Ryuzo’s Kinokogumo examines the experience of a young boy, Kosaka Ryo, from age four to thirteen, in a suburb of Hiroshima in prewar Japan. Ryo’s life in the village encompasses several central events: the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan’s surrender, and the death of Ryo’s father in the Philippines. Widowed at age thirty-five with four children, Ryo’s mother struggled to survive by selling rice on the black market and ultimately left for Yahata in Kyushu, searching for a better life. With its unique perspective on Japan and the living conditions there during and after the Pacific War, Mushroom Cloud will appeal to history and literature students.